Part 2
Eve came running out from the forest and quickly took her place beside Seri. Her clothes were torn and frayed at the edges, but she didn't seem hurt.
"Sorry it took me so long to return," she said calmly. "Thank you for protecting the Master while I was gone."
"You did take your time," Seri replied, arms crossed and smirking slightly.
The two of them started running toward Kaito, who was just then extending a hand to the trembling kitsune.
"My name is Kaito Amakawa," he said with a soft smile. "What's yours?"
Ayame hesitated for a moment. She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her clothes, and timidly reached out to take his hand.
"A... Ayame... Ayame Tsukiko," she replied, voice trembling but she didn't pull away. She didn't seem afraid of them.
"Nice to meet you, Ayame."
Just then, Seri and Eve arrived. Kaito gestured to them with a calm smile.
"This is Seri Flamel… and Evelin."
The girl looked up, her breathing still unsteady.
"Ayame…" she finally said.
Kaito nodded without wasting time.
"Ayame, how do we stop that thing?"
She shook her head slowly.
"I lost the bond… it won't obey me anymore. I can't stop it on my own."
The massive red demon emerged again from between the trees, more wounded than before, parts of its skin blackened from Eve's earlier blast, but its eyes were still just as wild.
"Master," Eve said, still calm. "I don't have enough energy left for another beam. I'd need a Luminite, and I don't have any more in my inventory."
"Seri, any ideas?"
"You're the hero here—shouldn't you stop asking me everything?" she huffed, though she didn't sound annoyed.
"…Though…"
Her voice trailed off.
Seri turned slowly, observing their surroundings.
The tall trees.
The nearby river.
The scent of damp earth.
The very nature the Oni was about to destroy.
And then, something in her expression changed.
A spark ignited in her eyes.
She looked down at her staff, still warm from casting magic.
And then… she remembered.
The familiar weight in her hands, the warmth in her chest… and those days when fire was just a mischievous game among Mythara's sacred trees.
"Seri, if you can't control your mana flow, I'm afraid we'll have to expel you from the forest."
A druidess dressed in pink, divine in her serenity, spoke as her hands gently healed the scorched land. Flowers bloomed at her feet. The soil—blackened by Seri's last outburst—began to breathe again.
In front of her stood a tiny red-haired elf, teary-eyed and sniffling, trying hard not to cry.
"I'm sorry, Miss Cherri… I didn't mean to…"
"I know. And I know the other elves have pushed you aside because of it… but I can't keep restoring the forest every time you set it on fire while practicing magic."
"I'm sorry…"
"Being a great mage isn't just about casting powerful spells, Seri."
"It also means learning to control your mana flow."
"It's like a river, when it flows calmly, it follows its path. But if too much rain falls, and it floods… it can destroy everything in its way."
"…I'm sorry…"
"Don't apologize, little one. Just listen to me."
"Like a river, if you don't guide your energy, it can hurt others."
"You must work on your control. Understood?"
"Yes, Miss Cherri."
...
Back in the present, Seri stood with her eyes closed.
She held her staff firmly now—no more trembling.
The wind brushed her face gently... as if Mythara itself was still watching over her from afar.
"Like a calm river... guide the waters. Guide the mana. Calm the flow."
"Forgive me, nature… for what I'm about to do," she whispered to herself.
Then she looked up at the others.
"Eve," she called out to the automaton. "Get Kaito and Ayame as far away from here as you can."
The automaton nodded without hesitation and immediately obeyed.
"Seri, what are you going to do?" Kaito asked, anxiety clear in his voice.
Seri smiled.
A firm, resolute smile.
"Don't worry. I'll handle this. It's my time to show… that I can be useful too."
"Seri!" Kaito shouted as Eve grabbed him—along with Ayame—and rushed them away at full speed.
"Don't worry…" Seri whispered, eyes drifting toward the sky. "I don't plan to die now. After all, our adventure is only just beginning."
She turned to face the Oni.
The demon, which had been watching the fleeing group, froze mid-step.
The sudden surge of mana in the air forced it to focus—directly on Seri.
The elf closed her eyes for a moment.
She felt it—mana flowing through her body, like a calm river.
Not like before. Not overflowing. Not wild.
This time… it was hers.
Her skin ignited in living flame, fire dancing across her form but leaving her untouched.
With a light step, Seri lifted into the sky, rising high above the battlefield.
She was gaining altitude. Finding the right angle.
A spark in the sky.
A silent declaration that she was no longer who she used to be.
Meanwhile, Eve came to a stop at the edge of the forest, setting Kaito and Ayame down gently.
"We have to go back!" Kaito exclaimed, panicked. "We can't leave Seri alone with that monster—he's going to kill her!"
The automaton shook her head firmly.
"Believe in her," she said. Her voice expressionless—yet oddly reassuring. "Based on my analysis of her mana fluctuations… we should be safe now."
"Safe from what?" Ayame asked, doubtful.
Eve tilted her head slightly, as if the answer were obvious.
"You'll see."
Back in the clearing—amid the devastation—
Seri raised her staff toward the sky.
The flames danced around her, spiraling, crackling with a life of their own.
The air trembled.
Even the sky seemed to pause, watching.
The little elf closed her eyes.
And when she opened them again, her pupils were glowing embers.
"I always thought this overwhelming mana was a curse…"
Her words floated through the wind, a whisper only the forest could hear.
"But thanks to it, I met Kaito…"
"And I realized it wasn't a curse."
"It's a blessing."
"My destiny… is to become the strongest fire mage in the world."
She raised her staff even higher.
"Not because I'm an elf."
"Not for my family."
"Not for my tribe."
A spark danced in the air.
"But for myself."
"Because I'm not alone anymore."
"Because now… I have something to protect."
She turned her attention to the Oni.
Her expression was calm.
Absolute.
"I won't let anyone… hurt us."
She pointed her staff directly at the demon.
"O fire that purifies all…"
A small magic circle formed above the demon's head, spinning slowly.
"Descend from the heavens…"
Two larger circles appeared above the first, resonating with a deep hum.
"Bring your judgment upon those who dare disturb peace…"
A final, massive circle unfolded, stretching across the entire clearing.
The animals fled.
The trees trembled.
Even the wind recoiled.
Each circle began to glow, lighting up the sky like a burning sun.
Seri closed her eyes one last time.
"Inferno Tempest…"
Then she opened them wide—eyes glowing—shining with the resolve of someone who no longer feared her own power.
"Final Judgment!"
The air surged with electricity.
Sparks burst into the wind like falling stars.
For the first time… the Oni paused.
It looked around and in some primal corner of its mind,
it seemed to know that the real destruction… hadn't even begun yet.
For a second, sound vanished.
The world held its breath.
Then… a blinding light.
Followed by an explosion so immense it felt like the world itself trembled.
BOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!
The earth cracked like shattered glass.
The shockwave tore through the forest, ripping trees apart, setting them ablaze, reducing them to ash in mere seconds.
The force of it reached Kaito and the others, even from afar.
The clouds gave way to pressure.
The sky was violently cleared, as if the atmosphere itself had fled from the unleashed power.
"What the hell—?!" Kaito shouted, stumbling back and shielding his eyes.
Eve raised a magical barrier just in time, softening the sheer force of the blast.
The burning wind whipped like lashes of fire.
The scene before them was something out of an apocalypse.
A massive mushroom cloud of fire and ash rose into the sky, spreading out like a crown of destruction.
The sheer might of Seri's attack was undeniable.
Devastating.
Absolute.
As the smoke began to fade, and the searing heat finally dropped low enough to breathe… they saw it.
An immense, smoking crater stretched out before them.
Where once stood part of a forest… now there was nothing but scorched, blackened earth.
There was no trace of the Oni.
Nothing.
Probably reduced to ashes... or less.
Kaito's expression was one of horror.
But not horror at the demon.
It was what he had just witnessed.
For the first time since arriving in this world—
nothing felt like an RPG anymore.
It was all real.
Dangerously real.
He swallowed hard, without realizing it.
Before him, Seri was slowly descending from the sky, clutching her staff like a leaf drifting down from a tall tree.
Kaito ran toward her and caught her gently.
She was incredibly light.
The little elf looked at him with an oddly calm gaze, though her face betrayed brutal fatigue as if she could collapse at any moment.
"I think… I overdid it a bit… heh… heh…" Seri murmured, her voice fading.
Kaito gave her a soft smile, holding her steady.
"You did great, Seri."
"You really did."
She smiled one last time… and passed out, exhausted from the massive mana release.
Kaito held her silently.
He studied her for a moment.
Her peaceful expression.
Ash-smudged cheeks.
Her tiny body trembling ever so slightly.
"I guess… it was the only option we had."
"It was either the monster… or us."
"She did the right thing."
He sighed, closing his eyes for just a second.
Then he turned to Eve and Ayame.
"Let's keep moving," he said, his voice now firm. "That explosion will draw the kingdom's attention. We need to stay hidden."
The two of them nodded in silence.
And so, the group slowly walked away from what had once been a forest… now just a desolate wasteland.
It had come at a high cost.
But letting that demon roam free… would've been worse.
As they walked, a heavy feeling wrapped around them.
A quiet doubt.
An uncertainty that not even victory could erase.
The price of surviving… was learning how to live with it.